Busy Bees in the Borderlands

Growing Native with Petey Mesquitey

Aug 19 2024 | 00:04:22

00:00 / 00:04:22

Show Notes

Squash bees are out so early in the morning that they’re moving pollen around well before honey bees even arrive. Research done by the Department of Agriculture found that squash bees “are largely responsible for the production of cultivated squash across North America” and “much of the Americas.” That is very cool. I like buffalo gourd (Cucurbita foetidissima) and I haven’t talked about it in many years. If you were to look it up you’d find that there has been a lot of research on seed of the gourd, but also of the large tuberous root. And, this is cool;…

Other Episodes

Episode

November 12, 2013 •

Desert Dreamscapes

Petey has wild dreams if he stays in bed too long in the morning. Get up Petey! Amoreuxia palmatifida is always a delightful botanical...

Episode

April 25, 2018 • 4:27

Two Common Species to Love

House finches are pretty darned cute and that’s why pet stores back in New York City in 1939 were selling them as “Hollywood Finches”....

Episode 0

October 03, 2023 • 00:04:27

Melampus Daisy

There are a dozen species of Melampodium and I wonder which one Linnaeus was looking at when he honored Melampus with the genus name....